For those who have played the Gran Turismo games, you may remember that one of the upgrades you can buy for your car is a better muffler. Well, okay, it's an air filter, but it's also known as a muffler. If you buy the best one, it increases your car's horsepower significantly. How can that work, though? I don't know exactly how, but I know getting a good muffler in real life actually can improve the performance of your car.
For example, the first automobile I ever owned was a used 1990 Honda Accord. You know the ones: sub-compact, automatic, greenish-grey, and with a sunroof. I had one. However, there were some problems. One of the problems was the muffler was shot to Hell. My car sounded louder than it really should've. When I started it up, it sounded like a sports car. Swear to god, my Honda Accord roared like a Ferrari Testarossa at one time. Well, okay, not like a Ferrari, but close enough. However, about a year ago, I was going to receive a another car to drive from one of my grandmothers, a 1999 Saturn. She would give it to me, since she would no longer drive, (her driver's license is now expired) and also, out of all of her "Boys", I had the worst car. However, before I could get the Saturn, we had to sell the Honda. We wanted it to be in better condition than it was when I first got it. Enter my dad. He orders a brand new muffler over the internet. It gets delivered. We take the old one out, which was full of holes and burn marks, and put the new one in, which was beautiful in comparison to the old muffler. Now, not only did the Honda not try to sound like a sports car anymore, but with the new muffler, the air intake for the motor was vastly improved. I got better acceleration and engine response out of it. And eventually, one of my mom's co-workers bought the Honda, and now I drive a Saturn, which thankfully, doesn't have a worthless muffler.
So you see, don't disregard the muffler, fellow motorists. It can make a world of difference in your vehicle's performance. I know it does in real life, as well as in Gran Turismo 4.
